In recent years, an improvement of home network infrastructure allows users to enjoy not only the Internet services provided from outside their homes by service providers, but also television programs recorded on hard disk drives (HDD) or the like using home networks. For example, an interface dedicated for services provided by a service provider from which content is received is connected to a home interface, and a user in another room enjoys the content in a home network.
In the case where a terminal has a plurality of interfaces as above, a failure to select an appropriate interface upon establishing communication may cause a failure to detect a target server or disconnection depending on a network environment, with the result that a user can no longer enjoy the services in the network or the content in the home network.
As an approach for solving such a problem, an information communication terminal device capable of selecting an optimum network path is disclosed (refer to PTL 1).
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration including a conventional information communication terminal device which selects a network path.
In an information communication terminal device 910, when a connection request is transmitted to a world wide web (WWW) server 23 and a WWW server 33 in given respective networks 21 and 31, one of a communication interface 911 and a communication interface 912 is selected which is designated in advance for a server to which the connection request is transmitted. Subsequently, a connection is established, via the selected one of the communication interface 911 and the communication interface 912, with a corresponding one of the network 21 and the network 31 in each of which a corresponding one of the WWW servers is provided, to obtain an Internet protocol (IP) address of the server from a device (a domain name system (DNS) server 22 or a DNS server 32) in the network. On the basis of the obtained IP address, a domain name registered and designated in advance for the WWW server, the communication interface 911, and the communication interface 912, a connection is then established with the WWW server.    [Citation List]    [Patent Literature]    [PTL 1]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. JP-A 2005-236480